The Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church, and Culture

2012 — Create

Introduction

Today’s young people are awash in a sea of brand logos, movies, advertisements, and pop-culture icons. These forces shape them to be consumers. In the midst of the noise, the Church is called to immerse young people in the waters of their baptism, unleashing the creative power of the Holy Spirit who has called them by name and commissioned them to “go into all the world.” Christ calls young people (all people, really) to share the Gospel with their God given creative abilities.

The theme for the 2012 Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church, and Culture is “Create”. The lecturers include an artist, New Testament scholar, professor of communications, theologian, and film studies expert. Each lecturer contributes their expertise to a conversation about the Creator, creation, creativity and the creative potential of young people as builders of the Kingdom of God. They tackle questions such as, “What does it mean to understand God as Creator, and what does it mean to be made in God’s image?” “How does the increasing influence of the entertainment industry communicate values to young people, and how should we respond?” “How might aesthetics and artistic expression grow and deepen ministry with youth?” We hope the insights offered in each lecture will fuel your own creativity and strengthen you for ministry.

Faithfully Yours,
Dayle Gillespie Rounds
Director, Institute for Youth Ministry
Princeton Theological Seminary

2012 Lectures

• Cecilia González-Andrieu
  • Taking Back the Aesthetic
• Makoto Fujimura
  • Illuminations
• Marianne Meye Thompson
  • Made and Making in God’s Image: Biblical Reflections on the Creator, Creation, and Creating
• William D. Romanowski
  • Gotta Cut Loose: Youth Culture and Entertainment Media
  • Off to See the Wizard: Cinema and Salvation, American Style
• Rebecca Ver Straten-McSparran
  • Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird: The Dark Side of Beauty